COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Audit Commission

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what savings he expects to arise under each budget heading from the abolition of the Audit Commission.

Bob Neill: The details will be included in the Impact Assessment accompanying the draft legislation that we intend to publish in the summer.
	As I outlined in my written statement of 25 April 2012, Official Report, column 37WS, abolition will save around £650 million over the next five years, net of transitional costs.

Audit Commission

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of the Audit Commission in each of the last 20 financial years.

Bob Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the right hon. Member directly.
	Letter from Eugene Sullivan, dated 14 May 2012
	Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
	The costs of the Commission include the costs of auditing local public bodies including those audited by private firms under contract to the Commission, the Commission's central costs and from 1998/99 to 2010/11 the costs of carrying out inspections and assessments of local public services and registered social landlords.
	The cost of the Audit Commission in each of the last 20 financial years (taken from the Commission's annual accounts which are laid before Parliament each year) was:
	
		
			 Financial year £000 
			 1992/93 74,221 
			 1993/94 82,740 
			 1994/95 88,960 
			 1995/96 92,592 
			 1996/97 93,381 
			 7 months to October 1997 60,676 
			 1997/98 105,703 
			 1998/99 111,620 
			 1999/2000 144,145 
			 2000/01 178,755 
			 2001/02 214,032 
			 17 months to March 2004 325,789 
			 2004/05 234,801 
			 2005/06 196,537 
			 2006/07 219,605 
			 2007/08 202,900 
			 2008/09 204,777 
			 2009/10(1) 222,520 
		
	
	
		
			 2010/11(2) 206,116 
			 2011/12(3) 162,457 
			 (1) Includes redundancy costs of £5.3 million. (2) Includes redundancy costs of £25.8 million. (3) Unaudited draft annual accounts, including estimated redundancy costs of £20.0 million. 
		
	
	The Commission changed its financial year end in 1997 from March to October. So there are a set of accounts for the period 1 April to 31 October 1997 and a set from 1 November to 31 October 1998. Our financial year end was changed again in 2004, so the period 2002-2004 is for 17 months, from 1 November 2002 to 31 March 2004.

Regional Planning and Development: South East

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the South East Plan to be revoked.

Bob Neill: The Localism Act provides for the abolition of regional strategies outside London in a two-stage process. The first stage, to remove the regional planning framework and prevent further strategies from being created, took effect when the Localism Act received Royal Assent on 15 November.
	The second stage is to abolish the existing regional strategies by secondary legislation. It remains our intention to lay Orders in Parliament to that effect, subject to the outcome of the environmental assessments process, which is ongoing.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Dealing with the Past

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress he has made on party talks on dealing with the past in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: I continue to meet political party representatives and interest groups to seek their views on how consensus on this difficult issue might be achieved. While the Government has a role to play, any successful outcome will be possible only if agreement is found from within Northern Ireland. It remains clear to me that no such consensus exists at present.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Responsibilities

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has had discussions with (a) the Minister for the Cabinet Office, (b) the Prime Minister and (c) the Deputy Prime Minister about the continued existence of his Department.

John Penrose: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has had no such discussions. He regularly updates the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on progress against the Department's long-term work programme.

Olympic Games 2012

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will meet ATOC and LOCOG to discuss discounted travel for Games Maker and London Ambassador volunteers to permit them to travel to London at the same cost as London 2012 ticket holders.

Hugh Robertson: All volunteers are entitled to free travel on public transport in London (zones 1-6) in order to get to their shifts during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This undertaking was set out in the London Olympics bid and contained the Host City Contract signed with the IOC (International Olympic Committee).
	All potential volunteers were advised throughout the recruitment process that no accommodation or other transport costs to or from London would be provided. These costs must be covered at the expense of the volunteers.

Sick Leave

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many days of sick leave were taken by staff in his Department in each of the last three years.

John Penrose: The information requested by my hon. Friend can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Total number of sick days 
			 2009 1,839 
			 2010 2,459 
			 2011 2,111

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fracking

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of fracking on the UK energy market over the next 10 years.

Charles Hendry: A British Geological Survey study in 2010 estimated that if UK shales were similar to those in the USA they could yield some 150 billion cubic metres of gas, equivalent to roughly two years' of UK demand. The BGS is currently undertaking a more detailed analysis, taking account of the latest information, of the extent of prospectively gas-bearing shales in the UK and the potential resources—that is, the amount of gas which might be contained in these rocks.
	However, as little drilling or testing has taken place, it is not at this stage possible to make meaningful estimates of how much of the resource may be technically and economically recoverable. It is therefore too early to make any useful estimates of the potential contribution shale gas might make to the UK energy market over the next 10 years.
	As far as the global effects of shale gas production are concerned, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) on 25 November 2011, Official Report, column 617W.

Fuels: Carers

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contingency plans he has made to ensure that non-local authority employed care workers retain access to adequate fuel supplies in case of any restriction of supplies caused by industrial action.

Charles Hendry: The Government has in place robust resilience and contingency plans to respond to significant disruptions to fuel supplies in the UK.
	In the case of the recent dispute, the Government made available 1,400 military drivers to maintain the majority of fuel deliveries to forecourts.

PRIME MINISTER

Media Ownership

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with (a) Ministerial colleagues and (b) officials in his Office on whether he will instruct Treasury Counsel to represent him as a core participant at the Leveson Inquiry in respect of matters relating to his conduct as (i) Leader of the Conservative Party, (ii) former Leader of the Opposition and (iii) matters relating to his private social engagements; and if he will make a statement.

David Cameron: As set out by Lord Justice Leveson on 4 May 2012, a number of Cabinet Members have been granted core participant status and will collectively be known as Government Core Participants.

Media Ownership

Frank Dobson: To ask the Prime Minister with reference to his oral answer of 30 April 2012, Official Report, column 1248, on the Ministerial Code (Culture Secretary), whether the (a) Cabinet Secretary and (b) source of legal advice in the Cabinet Office were aware that the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport had previously indicated his support for the News International bid to take over BSkyB.

David Cameron: As the then Cabinet Secretary made clear in his response of 22 December to the right hon. Member for Southampton, and Itchen (Mr Denham), in providing advice that there was no impediment to the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), taking on responsibility for media competition issues, he was aware of his former statements.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his intention that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport should continue to exist until 2015; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport about the continued existence of his Department.

David Cameron: The Government has no plans to abolish the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the spending review allocation of funding for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for 2012-15.

David Cameron: I have discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a range of subjects.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Carbon Emissions

Luciana Berger: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate he has made of the level of carbon emissions from the Commons estate in the last 12 months.

John Thurso: In the 12 months to the end of March 2012, 18,755 tonnes of carbon dioxide was emitted due to energy use on the parliamentary estate. Of this figure, 4,884 tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted from the use of natural gas on the estate, with the remainder emitted as a result of electricity generation.
	The Houses have jointly set a target to reduce absolute carbon emissions, and the level of emissions in 2011-12 was 16.4% below those of 2008-09. 85% of the electricity supplied to the estate is procured on renewable green tariffs; however, in line with standard practice, this is not taken into account when calculating carbon dioxide emissions for energy generation.
	This means that the House is on target to achieve its longer-term aim of reducing carbon emissions from energy consumption by 34% between 2008-09 to 2020-21.
	I have asked the Director General, Facilities to contact the hon. Lady directly to brief her in more detail.

Energy: Costs

Luciana Berger: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much was spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity to heat and light the Commons estate in each of the last two financial years.

John Thurso: The amount spent to heat and light the Commons estate in the past two financial years was:
	
		
			 £000 
			  2010-11 2011-12 
			 Gas 561.5 517.5 
			 Electricity 2,342.4 2,433.2 
		
	
	The reason for the differences between the two years is mainly due to changes in tariffs.

TRANSPORT

Aviation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if she will introduce legislative proposals based on the US Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act 2012, Section 403, introducing a uniform national policy for taking musical instruments on airplanes;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect on professional musicians of allowing airlines to set their own policies about taking musical instruments on airplanes.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport has made no assessment and has no plans to introduce legislation on this issue.

Aviation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received about difficulties faced by musicians wishing to carry their musical instruments on airplanes.

Theresa Villiers: The Department has received a small number of representations in the last year on this issue. Our advice remains to all passengers, including musicians, to check airlines’ terms and conditions of carriage relating to baggage prior to booking and choose an airline that best suits their particular needs.

Great Western Railway Line

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the likely effect of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics on the extent of crowding on commuter services on the Great Western line in and out of London Paddington.

Theresa Villiers: At the time of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, normal rail services will be supplemented with additional trains to meet extra demand. These additional services have been specified by the Olympic Delivery Authority as part of its responsibility for planning transport to address expected demand for games-related travel.
	Separate from these Olympic Games-specific arrangements, the Government has agreed funding under its HLOS programme for an additional 46 carriages on First Great Western services operating into London Paddington. These extra carriages will enable lengthening of existing services, significantly increasing their capacity. The extra carriages are planned to come into service in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Railways: Fares

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will meet the (a) Association of Train Operating Companies and (b) London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to discuss discounted travel for Games Maker and London Ambassador volunteers to travel to London at the same cost as London 2012 Olympics ticket holders.

Theresa Villiers: All volunteers are entitled to free travel on public transport in London (zones 1-6) in order to get to their shifts during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This undertaking was set out in the London Olympics bid and contained the Host City Contract signed with the IOC (International Olympic Committee).
	All potential volunteers were advised throughout the recruitment process that no accommodation or other transport costs to or from London would be provided. These costs must be covered at the expense of the volunteers.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Feed

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will report on the outcome of the review conducted by her Department on the benefits and risks of using food waste in animal feed.

James Paice: The outcome of DEFRA's review on the benefits and risks of using food waste in animal feed (Project FO0218) will be reported at the end of 2012.

Birds of Prey: Conservation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has made an assessment of the future development of Natural England's hen harrier recovery project; and what funding from the public purse has been allocated to this project in 2012-13.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA is working closely with Natural England to develop conservation work for hen harriers, building on Natural England's hen harrier recovery project. In 2012-13 Natural England has allocated one full-time member of staff and £15,000 to the Upland Hen Harrier Recovery Project, which carries out research on and monitoring of hen harriers in England. This project uses satellite tagging and co-ordinates a network of volunteer raptor workers. In addition, Natural England contributes to two partnership projects: the Environment Council-facilitated Hen Harrier Dialogue Working Group; and £17,138 and staff time to the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project, which aims to find effective means of resolving conflicts between raptors and grouse moor management.

Birds of Prey: Conservation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the findings were of Natural England's project to fit hen harriers with radio or satellite transmitters between 2002 and 2012; and if she will place in the Library any reports on this project submitted to her Department.

Richard Benyon: Natural England has undertaken intensive studies of the movements of hen harriers since 2002, as part of its hen harrier recovery project. The preliminary results have already been published in a report available on Natural England's website and I have arranged for a copy of the report to be placed in the Library of the House. This was based on the results of tracking 106 English-born hen harriers fitted with radio or satellite transmitters in the period 2002-08. This work showed that hen harriers travel over large distances and some individuals range widely over both upland and lowland areas before returning to traditional upland heather moorland sites to breed. Since 2007 a further 13 birds have been fitted with radio or satellite transmitters as part of a PhD study of the hen harrier in England, part-funded by Natural England. The data collected from tracking these birds are currently being analysed. The work will be published as part of a PhD thesis and, if appropriate, submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Birds of Prey: Conservation

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to reduce persecution of hen harriers under the Wildlife Crime Priority for raptor persecution.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA co-chairs the UK wildlife crime tasking and co-ordinating group, where it has supported the inclusion of raptor persecution as a wildlife crime priority for the last four years. The hen harrier is one of six priority species for wildlife crime action.
	In 2011 DEFRA stepped up its involvement by participating in the police-led raptor persecution wildlife crime priority delivery group. The group's objective is to raise community trust and awareness to encourage intelligence and incident reporting, which should in turn lead to prevention and enforcement activity for raptor persecution.

Dogs

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the written ministerial statement of 23 April 2012, Official Report, columns 30-32WS, on tackling irresponsible dog ownership, how much of the £50,000 funding for the RSPCA, Battersea Cats and Dogs Home and the Dogs Trust (a) had and (b) had not previously been committed or given to each organisation.

James Paice: The RSPCA, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Dogs Trust have received all of the £50,000 funding. The RSPCA were paid at the end of the 2010-11 financial year in respect of ongoing projects due to report by 31 December this year. Payment was made to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Dogs Trust at the end of March 2012. They are due to report by 31 March 2013.

National Parks

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications Natural England is considering for the designation of a national park; and for which areas such applications have been made.

Richard Benyon: Natural England is not currently considering any new national park designations. However, following extensive public consultation, Natural England has recently proposed extensions to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman). Full details are available on the Natural England website.

Supermarkets: Competition

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with (a) farming unions and (b) the Welsh Government regarding plans for a groceries code adjudicator.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), has not met with farming unions or the Welsh Government to specifically discuss plans for the Groceries Code Adjudicator recently. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is leading Government implementation of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill.

UN Conference on Sustainable Development

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) dates and (b) attendees were of each of her meetings with the (i) Prime Minister, (ii) Deputy Prime Minister, (iii) Foreign Secretary, (iv) Secretary of State for International Development and (v) Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to discuss the Rio+20 conference.

Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), discusses Rio+20 (the UN Conference of Sustainable Development) with her Cabinet colleagues in the normal course of Government business. In addition to other meetings, most recently on 9 May, the Secretary of State attended a meeting focussing on Rio+20, along with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), with 30 representatives from the UK business and civil society community. The list of attendees will be published in due course, as part of the Government's established procedure of publishing meetings that have taken place between Ministers and external organisations.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted an investment visa in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The available statistics relate to the number of visas granted in the work route Tier 1 Investors (excluding EEA nationals). The statistics are given in the table and are published in table be.04, in the Home Office statistical release ‘Immigration Statistics'.
	These data may include individuals who have not yet entered the country and some who have subsequently left the country. Individuals could be counted more than once within the data.
	A copy of the latest release, ‘Immigration Statistics October—December 2011', is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/
	
		
			 Entry clearance visas issued—(Tier 1) Investors 
			  Main applicants Dependants 
			 2007 n/a n/a 
			 2008 43 95 
			 2009 153 282 
			 2010 211 372 
			 2011 331 529 
			 n/a = Not applicable. Notes: 1. Provisional figures. 2. Figures are numbers of visas granted. Source: Table be.04, ‘Immigration Statistics October—December 2011’, Migration Statistics, Home Office, February 2012

Human Trafficking

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials in her Department last discussed with their Dutch counterparts the effects of the Independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings on the Dutch government's human trafficking policies.

Damian Green: Discussions take place regularly at official level between the United Kingdom and other EU member states to exchange national experiences, develop best practice and co-ordinate efforts across Europe. Officials will be meeting the Dutch Rapporteur shortly.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Apprentices: Disability

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidelines Jobcentre Plus have been given for supporting young disabled people to access apprenticeships.

Chris Grayling: When claimants express an interest in an apprenticeship vacancy Jobcentre Plus signposts the individual to the National Apprenticeship website. The guidance contained in this site directs the claimant to an online web inquiry form which facilitates the application process.
	If the claimant is disabled and requires additional help, Jobcentre Plus will utilise the services available through Access to Work to ensure that appropriate assistance and adjustments, over and above what would be reasonable for an employer to pay, are provided. This support is available to all those who receive a salary, including those on apprenticeships.

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to publish the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the client funds accounts of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission for (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to publish the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the client funds accounts of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission for (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission's Client Funds Account 2010/11 was published on 14 May 2012.
	The 2011/12 Client Funds Account is yet to be audited and will be published later in the year.

Cleaning Services

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the hourly rate of payment is for cleaners at his Department's headquarters building; and whether that rate is higher or lower than the hourly rates paid to cleaners in other Government Departments.

Chris Grayling: In 1998 the Department entered into a 20-year PFI contract with Telereal Trillium for the provision of fully serviced accommodation which includes cleaning services. The Department does not therefore directly employ any cleaners. Telereal Trillium delivers their cleaning obligations through their service partners, Mitie Group, who actually employ the cleaning operatives. Cleaners working in the Department's headquarters buildings in London are paid at or above the national minimum wage.
	Details of commercial arrangements between other Government Departments and their cleaning contractors are not known by this Department so I am unable to provide information about the pay rates paid elsewhere.

Employment and Support Allowance: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Warrington North constituency are in the support group for employment and support allowance.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is given as follows.
	
		
			 Employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants—Warrington North constituency, August 2011 
			  Number 
			 All ESA recipients 1,240 
			 Of which:  
			 Are in the Support Group 110 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 3. Phase of ESA claim is derived from payment details held on the source system. The three phases are Assessment phase, Work Related Activity phase and Support Group phase. 4. This information is published on our tabulation tool at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data

Employment Schemes: Disability

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the transfer of the disability work budget to the Welsh Government.

Maria Miller: On the morning of 7 March 2012 before the written ministerial statement on Employment Support was made, Official Report, columns 63-66WS, I spoke with my colleague Leighton Andrews, Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning in the Welsh Government.
	I also met with Leighton Andrews on 13 March to discuss the Government's response to the Sayce review and its impacts on the Remploy facilities in Wales.
	At this meeting we discussed that the UK Government has taken a considered policy decision to reduce funding to Remploy, and move to supporting individuals rather than institutions. We firmly believe that this will allow us to support thousands more disabled people into work. It was therefore explained to the Welsh Government that it would not be beneficial to disabled people for the UK Government to transfer a subsidy to the Welsh Government for this purpose as this would not allow us to implement our UK wide policy.
	Following these meetings I have been in contact with Leighton Andrews and Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales, on this subject and my officials and other ministerial colleagues continue to engage with Welsh officials regarding employment support in Wales.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefits

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Warrington North constituency were in receipt of housing benefit and council tax benefit and qualified to set 100 per cent of childcare costs against earnings for calculating their entitlement to these benefits in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: Information on housing benefit and council tax recipients who qualified to set 100% of child care costs against earnings for calculating their entitlement to these benefits is not available.
	The Department does collect some information on the amount of child care disregard allowed on the Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit data Source (SHBE) but to assess the completeness of recording and quality assure the figures would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs formerly in his Department and its agencies and non-departmental bodies were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

Chris Grayling: A total of 60 jobs were transferred from DWP, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies to the private sector in 2010-12. The transfers were from Remploy.
	The Remploy staff were engaged on Flexible New Deal contracts and were transferred to the private sector providers who had secured the prime contracts for the Work programme which replaced the Flexible New Deal contracts the Remploy staff were engaged on.

Pensions

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of Solvency II directives on UK defined benefit pension schemes.

Steve Webb: The European Commission is carrying out a review of Directive 2003/41/EC on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision, but it has not yet made any legislative proposals.
	The review includes a study of how methodology used in the Solvency II directive might be adapted for occupational pension schemes. We have made clear that, due to the differentiating characteristics of occupational pensions we do not believe this is an appropriate position from which to undertake this review, and that, given the potential for a huge increase in the costs of providing defined benefit schemes—perhaps by over £100 billion—we will oppose any proposals to align pension fund capital rules with those in the Solvency II directive.

Personal Independence Payment

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department expects to publish the responses to its consultation on the personal independence payment assessment criteria and thresholds; and when he expects to publish the Government response to the consultation.

Maria Miller: The consultation on the second draft of the assessment criteria for personal independence payment closed on 30 April 2012. We have received approximately 1,000 responses to the consultation from both individuals and organisations.
	We will now carefully consider all of the responses we have received, along with feedback from stakeholder meetings held during the consultation period, before reaching conclusions on the changes that need to be made to the criteria. We plan to publish our response to the consultation in autumn 2012.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Proceeds of Crime

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church Commissioners have had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on allowing churches to make claims from proceeds of crime funds.

Tony Baldry: The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division of the Church of England did make proposals regarding the use of the proceeds of crime fund in its report to the Home Office, March 2011. The report was about the impact metal theft was having on the Church of England. The Church Commissioners have not had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), regarding access to the proceeds of crime funds.

JUSTICE

Electronic Tagging

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was paid to each service provider of electronic monitoring services in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows the amounts paid by the Ministry of Justice to G4S plc and Serco Group plc to provide electronic monitoring services in each of the last three financial years. These figures do not include payments made by the United Kingdom Border Agency directly to the service providers for providing services in immigration cases.
	
		
			 £ million (inc VAT) 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 SERCO plc 40.7 46.1 54.6 
			 G4S plc 53.2 55.5 62.3

Electronic Tagging

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people were on tag in each criminal justice area in each of the last 10 years; and what the average number of days on tag was in each such year;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library any annual statistical and performance data returns supplied to his Department or the National Offender Management Service by suppliers of electronic monitoring services in England and Wales;
	(3)  what the average number of offenders on electronic monitoring was for each type of programme in each year since the contracts for those programmes were let; and what the number of tagging days was for each programme in each such year.

Crispin Blunt: The information requested is as follows:
	(1) Information on new electronically monitored supervision starts in England and Wales for each financial year between 2002-03 and 2011-12, by Criminal Justice System Area, is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: New electronic monitoring starts by Criminal Justice System area, 2002-03 to 2011-12 (1,2) 
			  New electronic monitoring starts in financial year 
			 Region/area 2002-03 (2) 2003-04 (2) 2004-05 (2) 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (3) 2011-12 (3) 
			 Cleveland(4) (6)— (6)— (6)— 914 1,194 1,521 1,871 1,737 1,945 (6)— 
		
	
	
		
			 Durham(4) (6)— (6)— (6)— 491 717 943 1,217 1,335 1,367 (6)— 
			 Durham Tees Valley(4) (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,618 
			 Northumbria (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,706 2,606 3,124 3,649 3,540 3,606 2,797 
			 Cheshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,052 1,552 2,145 1,941 1,824 1,904 1,590 
			 Cumbria (6)— (6)— (6)— 650 1,036 1,232 1,418 1,478 1,391 1,348 
			 Greater Manchester (6)— (6)— (6)— 5,552 6,579 7,958 7,993 7,456 8,208 7,448 
			 Lancashire (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,212 2,770 4,278 5,131 5,230 5,687 4,688 
			 Merseyside (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,681 3,582 4,634 4,914 4,777 4,903 4,320 
			 Derbyshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,324 1,356 1,710 1,976 1,958 1,948 1,850 
			 Leicestershire (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,213 1,210 1,364 1,312 1,141 1,322 1,214 
			 Lincolnshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 481 377 449 715 693 810 836 
			 Northamptonshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 358 316 688 720 847 923 827 
			 Nottinghamshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,247 1,542 1,933 1,862 1,997 2,287 2,218 
			 Humberside (6)— (6)— (6)— 691 838 1,242 1,517 1,709 1,746 1,711 
			 North Yorkshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 615 798 1,068 1,151 1,248 1,224 1,077 
			 South Yorkshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,256 2,533 3,066 3,496 3,559 3,427 3,041 
			 West Yorkshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 4,541 5,152 5,849 6,068 6,116 6,031 5,257 
			 Hampshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,473 2,555 3,237 3,214 3,052 3,246 2,797 
			 Kent (6)— (6)— (6)— 750 1,081 1,463 2,032 2,442 2,956 2,590 
			 Surrey(5) (6)— (6)— (6)— 637 770 948 852 908 986 (6)— 
			 Sussex(5) (6)— (6)— (6)— 865 1,155 1,495 1,860 1,833 2,116 (6)— 
			 Surrey and Sussex(5) (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,527 
			 Thames Valley (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,450 1,600 2,203 2,576 2,823 3,088 2,840 
			 Avon and Somerset (6)— (6)— (6)— 2,172 2,431 3,324 3,652 3,658 4,167 3,839 
			 Devon and Cornwall (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,169 1,339 1,474 1,688 2,107 2,279 2,068 
			 Dorset (6)— (6)— (6)— 518 504 707 926 1,019 960 802 
			 Gloucestershire (6)— (6)— (6)— 578 510 564 983 998 759 786 
			 Wiltshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 393 516 674 935 1,023 978 746 
			 Staffordshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 977 1,292 1,373 1,448 1,486 1,540 1,453 
			 Warwickshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 201 237 309 259 270 364 371 
			 West Mercia (6)— (6)— (6)— 817 1,080 931 1,086 1,262 1,356 1,429 
			 West Midlands (6)— (6)— (6)— 3,352 3,303 3,764 4,284 5,155 5,980 6,514 
			 Dyfed Powys (6)— (6)— (6)— 224 305 341 399 358 422 382 
			 Gwent (6)— (6)— (6)— 623 721 613 638 663 926 1,131 
			 North Wales (6)— (6)— (6)— 978 1,237 1,329 1,295 1,420 1,401 1,205 
			 South Wales (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,170 1,213 1,352 1,665 2,028 2,347 2,078 
			 London (6)— (6)— (6)— 8,352 11,883 14,645 16,824 19,899 23,772 21,723 
			 Bedfordshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 645 895 1,072 1,303 1,227 1,370 1,214 
			 Cambridgeshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 602 674 861 901 1,198 1,216 1,163 
			 Essex (6)— (6)— (6)— 1,021 1,277 1,559 1,534 1,586 1,920 1,908 
			 Hertfordshire (6)— (6)— (6)— 956 1,122 1,289 1,504 1,471 1,546 1,455 
			 Norfolk (6)— (6)— (6)— 521 596 606 606 669 704 640 
			 Suffolk (6)— (6)— (6)— 578 751 699 640 573 746 604 
			 Total 37,924 46,472 53,230 60,006 73,205 90,036 100,055 105,773 115,874 105,105 
			 (1) These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. (2) New starts were not split by Criminal Justice System area before the start of the current contract in 2005-06. (3) New starts in 2010-11 and 2011-12 cannot be compared directly to previous years as before October 2010 extensions of pre-trial curfews (e.g. when a monitored defendant attended court and was re-bailed) were classed as new starts, whereas afterwards they were not. This caused an apparent fall in pre-trial new starts. (4) From 2011-12 Cleveland and Durham are reported together as Durham Tees Valley. (5) From 2011-12 Surrey and Sussex are reported together as Surrey and Sussex. (6) Data not collected in this form. 
		
	
	Only headline figures are available for 2002-03 to 2004-05, prior to the current contract. There is a break in the time series at October 2010 due to a change in the policy concerning pre-trial use. Before this date electronic monitoring equipment for pre-trial defendants was removed before each court appearance; from October 2010 the equipment is only removed if a bail condition requiring electronic monitoring is not retained. This led to an apparent fall in the number of pre-trial new starts and affects any derived statistics.
	It is not possible to provide the actual average number of days a person is electronically monitored for the full time period except at disproportionate cost. However, an estimated number of days in each monitored period is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 2: Estimated length of each period of electronic monitoring, by type, 2005-06 to 2011-12 (1) 
			  Estimated (3)  average length of each period of electronic monitoring 
			 2005-06 68 
			 2006-07 66 
			 2007-08 65 
			 2008-09 65 
			 2009-10 65 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11(2) 69 
			 2011-12(2) 85 
			 (1) These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. (2) Figures in 2010-11 and 2011-12 cannot be compared directly to each other or to previous years as before October 2010 extensions of pre-trial curfews (e.g. when a monitored defendant attended court and was re-bailed) were classed as new starts, whereas afterwards they were not. This caused an apparent fall in Pre-trial new starts and an apparent increase in the length of each period of electronic monitoring. (3) Information on the average number of days that a person is electronically monitored is not routinely available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. This estimate has been calculated by dividing the estimated total days of electronic monitoring for the period by the total number of new starts in the period. 
		
	
	(2) The National Offender Management Service is currently reviewing the information provided by the suppliers of electronic monitoring services to determine what should be published in future.
	(3) Information on the average caseload in England and Wales for each financial year between the start of the current contract in 2005-06 and 2011-12, by Criminal Justice System stage, is contained in the following table:
	It is not possible to provide the actual total number of days of electronic monitoring for each stage for the given period except at disproportionate cost. However, an estimated total number of days for each stage is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 3: Annu al electronic monitoring data— average caseload by type and estimated total days of electronic monitoring per year, 2005 - 06 to 2011 - 12 (1) 
			   2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (2) 2011-12 (2) 
			 Average caseload(3,4) Total 11,243 13,267 16,097 17,736 18,965 21,847 24,375 
			  Pre-trial 787 2,100 2,859 3,680 4,979 6,517 9,174 
			  Court order 6,907 8,304 10,306 11,074 10,922 12,165 11,856 
			  Post-release 3,549 2,863 2,931 2,983 3,065 3,166 3,345 
			          
			 Total days of electronic monitoring Total 4,104,000 4,842,000 5,875,000 6,474,000 6,922,000 7,974,000 8,897,000 
			  Pre-trial 287,000 766,000 1,044,000 1,343,000 1,817,000 2,379,000 3,348,000 
			  Court order 2,521,000 3,031,000 3,762,000 4,042,000 3,986,000 4,440,000 4,328,000 
			  Post-release 1,295,000 1,045,000 1,070,000 1,089,000 1,119,000 1,155,000 1,221,000 
			 (1) These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. (2) Total and pre-trial new starts in 2010-11 and 2011-12 cannot be compared directly to each other or to previous years as before October 2010 extensions of pre-trial curfews (e.g. when a monitored defendant attended court and was re-bailed) were classed as new starts, whereas afterwards they were not. This caused an apparent fall in pre-trial new starts. (3) An individual may appear in more than one category over the course of a single set of proceedings. For example, pre-trial a defendant may be released on electronically monitored bail and then, when convicted, be sentenced to a community order with an electronically monitored curfew requirement. (4) The average caseload is the average number of individuals monitored at the same time on any day in the year. Note: Pre-trial includes defendants on conditional bail with an electronically monitored curfew requirement. Court order includes community orders with an electronic monitoring requirement. Post release includes prisoners released on home detention curfew.

Employment Tribunals Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions a closed material procedure has been used in an employment tribunal in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The information is not readily available or held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners there are in UK prisons; what the highest number has been; and how many there were in May 2005.

Crispin Blunt: Numbers of foreign national prisoners are published quarterly. On 31 March 2012 (latest available) the foreign national prisoner population in England and Wales was 11,127. The highest quarterly number was 11,546 on 31 December 2009. On 30 June 2005, the population was 9,651.
	Issues arising in Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive respectively.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Proceeds of Crime

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has carried out of the effectiveness of the Community Cashback initiative piloted in 2009-10.

Crispin Blunt: The Government has not undertaken any detailed assessment of the Community Cashback scheme.

Young Offender Institutions: Greater Manchester

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to children in Hindley Young Offender Institution by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month of the last two years;
	(2)  what the ethnicity is of each child awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in Hindley Young Offender Institution in each month of the last two years;
	(3)  how many cases have been referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Hindley Young Offender Institution in each month of the last two years.

Crispin Blunt: Table 1 shows the ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in Hindley under 18 Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This excludes 18-year-olds at Hindley (106747).
	The second table (Table 2) shows how many additional days of imprisonment were awarded to people in Hindley under-18 Young Offender Institution by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012. This excludes 18-year-olds at Hindley (106746).
	The third table (Table 3) shows how many cases were referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Hindley under 18 Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010 to April 2012 (106748).
	These data have been provided by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the Youth Justice Board (YJB) from Hindley Young Offender Institution (YOI).
	These figures have been drawn from YOI records. As such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time.
	
		
			 Table 1: Ethnicity of each person awarded additional days of imprisonment by outside adjudicators in Hindley Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010  to  April 2012 
			  W1 W2 W9 M1 M2 M3 M9 A1 A2 A3 A9 B1 B2 B9 O1 O9 Total 
			 2010                  
			 January — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 February — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 June — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 July — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 September — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 October — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 November — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 December — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 2011                  
			 January — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 February 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 March 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 April 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 May — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 June 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 July 3 — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — 4 
			 August 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — 2 
			 September 1 — — 1 — — — — — — — 1 — 1 — — 4 
			 October 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — 2 
			 November 2 — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — 3 
			 December 5 — — — 2 — — — — — — — — — — — 7 
			 2012                  
			 January — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 February 4 — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — 5 
			 March 9 — — — — — — — — — — — 2 — — — 11 
			 April 3 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 3 
			 Notes: 1. Ethnicity key: W1: White – British W2: White – Irish W9: White - Other White M1: Mixed - White and Black Caribbean M2: Mixed - White and Black African M3: Mixed - White and Asian M9: Mixed - Other Mixed A1: Asian or Asian British - Indian A2: Asian or Asian British - Pakistani A3: Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi A9: Asian or Asian British - Other Asian B1: Black or Black British - Caribbean B2: Black or Black British - African B9: Black or Black British - Other Black O1: Chinese - Chinese O9: Other Ethnic Group - Any Other 2. This table covers 10-17 year olds at Hindley. No 18 year old received any additional days for breaches of prison rules in this time period. 3. These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of additional days of imprisonment awarded to people in Hindley Young Offender Institution by an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in each month from January 2010 to April 2012 
			  Number 
			 2010  
			 January 0 
			 February 0 
			 March 0 
			 April 0 
			 May 0 
			 June 0 
			 July 0 
			 August 0 
			 September 0 
			 October 0 
			 November 0 
			 December 14 
			 2011  
			 January 0 
			 February 5 
			 March 31 
			 April 10 
			 May 0 
			 June 0 
			 July 25 
			 August 35 
			 September 49 
			 October 35 
			 November 38 
			 December 58 
			 2012  
			 January 15 
			 February 59 
			 March 70 
			 April 14 
			 Notes: 1. This table covers 10-17 year olds at Hindley. No 18 year old received any additional days for breaches of prison rules in this time period. 2. These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of cases referred to an outside adjudicator for breaches of prison rules in Hindley Young Offender Institution in each month from January 2010  to  April 2012 
			  Number 
			 2010  
			 January 0 
			 February 0 
			 March 0 
			 April 0 
			 May 0 
			 June 0 
			 July 0 
			 August 0 
			 September 0 
			 October 0 
			 November 0 
			 December 1 
			 2011  
			 January 0 
			 February 1 
			 March 4 
			 April 2 
			 May 0 
			 June 1 
			 July 4 
			 August 2 
			 September 4 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2 
			 November 3 
			 December 7 
			 2012  
			 January 2 
			 February 5 
			 March 11 
			 April 3 
			 Notes: 1. This table covers 10-17 year olds at Hindley. 2. One 18-year-old was referred to an outside adjudicator however the individual left the establishment before the case was heard and is not included in the above figures. 3. These figures have been drawn from YOI records, as such they are subject to possible recording errors and can be subject to change over time.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Learning

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many contracts have been issued by Civil Service Learning since its formation; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Civil Service Learning has issued eight contracts since its formation.

Civil Service Learning

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff are employed by Civil Service Learning; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Civil Service Learning was established in April 2011 in response to a wide-ranging review of learning and development in the civil service. The review recognised the need for the civil service to obtain better value for the taxpayer from its investment in learning and development, reduce the duplication in learning procurement and make greater use of the external market to provide training. In 2009-10, £275 million was spent on training and development across the civil service. From 2012-13, the work of Civil Service Learning will contribute to annual savings for the taxpayer of £90 million against this baseline.
	In 2009 there were approximately 2,000 people engaged in the design and delivery of generic training and development across the civil service; now there are around 300. At 10 May 2012, Civil Service Learning employed 60 of these 300 staff.

Civil Service Learning

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the budget is for Civil Service Learning in 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Civil Service Learning was established in April 2011 in response to a wide-ranging review of learning and development in the Civil Service. The review recognised the need for the Civil Service to obtain better value for the taxpayer from its investment in learning and development, reduce the duplication in learning procurement and make greater use of the external market to provide training. In 2009-10, £275 million was spent on training and development across the civil service. By centralising learning and development provision, the work of Civil Service Learning will contribute to annual savings from 2012-13 for the taxpayer of £90 million against this baseline.
	Civil Service Learning's operational budget for 2012-13 is £9.5 million.

Employment

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the number of (a) private and (b) public sector jobs in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last three financial years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated May 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of the number of (a) private and (b) public sector jobs in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last three financial years. (106805)
	Public and private sectors employment statistics for local areas can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey.
	Table 1, shows the number of persons employed in the public and private sectors in each constituency in Great Britain from the APS for the period April 2010 to March 2011, the latest financial period for which data is available, and April to March for the previous two years. Estimates for Northern Ireland are not available. As the information requested is quite extensive, a copy of the table has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in Table 1.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk.

Food Waste

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the amount of food waste generated by the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister’s Office last year; and what steps he is taking to reduce this.

Francis Maude: It is not my objective to reduce the amount of food waste collected by my Department as food waste can be reprocessed, avoiding the need for landfill.
	After May 2010 food waste recycling caddies with biodegradable bags were introduced in my Department. These were fully established at all kitchens and tea points across the Cabinet Office estate in 2011. Food waste from these is processed to create electricity, heat, vehicle fuel or a fertiliser, avoiding the need for landfill.
	During 2011-12, around 9 tonnes of food waste were reprocessed.

Fraud

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much and what proportion of the estimate of public sector fraud measured by the National Fraud Authority has been (a) specifically identified and (b) recovered (i) in total and (ii) by each department in each of the last three years.

Francis Maude: Since January 2011, as part of this Government's determination to collect coherent management information, departments have been required to report their losses relating to fraud, error and uncollected debt through ‘Quarterly Data Summaries' (QDS). There are no centrally collected data on detected fraud between April 2009 and January 2011.
	Figures of detected fraud and error are published in departmental QDS returns and this information is available on their websites.
	These figures cannot be expressed as a proportion of ‘estimated' public sector fraud losses published in the National Fraud Authority's Annual Fraud Indicator as the definitions used, and the years to which these figures relate are not comparable.
	We expect the figure for fraud in the QDS to increase as departments get better at identifying it.

Fraud

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what measures his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of cross-governmental steps to tackle public sector fraud; and what benchmarking work has taken place to inform this work.

Francis Maude: For years the Government has lost billions of pounds of taxpayers' money per annum through fraud, error and debt. My department is determined to address this. We estimate that, by 2015, the Government could save as much as £4 billion per year by taking more effective measures to tackle fraud, error and debt.
	One of the cornerstones of the approach we are taking through the work of the Fraud, Error and Debt Taskforce, which I established in October 2010, is to strengthen the focus on prevention as a means of tackling fraud and error. In February this year, we published a report setting out measures that we will be taking which include requirements that:
	by December 2013, all government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies will undertake a spend recovery audit on their accounts payable system; and
	by March 2015, government departments that administer benefits, grants and other payment systems will screen applications before payment is made, rather than paying without checking.
	The Taskforce will be monitoring progress in implementing the commitments made. A key measure of effectiveness will be the extent of ‘losses prevented'.
	Although there are independent comparisons of tax and welfare fraud, there remains a need to develop robust comparisons to benchmark success in other areas. We expect our capacity to benchmark the effectiveness of measures will improve as more departments start to implement these commitments.

Fraud

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time equivalent staff his Department has assigned to work on public sector fraud in each of the last three years.

Francis Maude: The National Fraud Authority estimates that £20.3 billion is lost every year to public sector fraud. For the first time my Department is taking effective cross-Government action to tackle this. This does not replace Departments’ own plans to address fraud.
	We estimate that, by 2015, the Government stands to save the taxpayer at least £4 billion per year by dealing with fraud, error and uncollected debt more effectively. In this context work on Fraud, Error and Debt was established in the Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) in 2011. Prior to this there were no staff assigned to tackling fraud in the Cabinet Office.
	ERG operates a flexible resourcing and development approach to staffing which allocates staff to time-bound assignments to ensure resources are best focused on priorities. In 2011, four full-time equivalent (FTE) staff were working specifically on Fraud, Error and Debt and this has since increased to nine FTE in May 2012. The resource on this project will shortly increase to 16.

HEALTH

Arthritis

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to assist GPs in the early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that people with rheumatoid arthritis are referred to a specialist at an appropriate time for diagnosis, follow-up appointments and during flare-ups.

Paul Burstow: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published a clinical guideline on the management of people with rheumatoid arthritis. This includes guidance on the early diagnosis of the condition and specifically recommends referral to a specialist for any person with suspected persistent synovitis of undetermined cause. The guideline recommends that people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis should have ongoing access to a multidisciplinary team, including access to a named member of the team who would be responsible for co-ordinating the care they need. A NICE quality standard, setting out the care which people with rheumatoid arthritis can expect, is included in the library of quality standards under development.

Blood: Contamination

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the estimate by the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee that one in 4,000 recipients of fresh frozen plasma could be susceptible to vCJD, what steps he plans to take to mitigate that risk.

Anne Milton: The one in 4,000 figure relates to the potential level of unidentified asymptomatic infection with abnormal prion protein within the population and this figure was first set out in a study published in 2004. Because of the scientific uncertainties about the potential incubation period of human prion diseases, such as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), and the potential level of unidentified asymptomatic infection in the population, the Department's focus is to manage potential risks of person to person transmission using evidence based and cost effective measures. The following actions are among those taken with respect of the risk of anyone potentially carrying the abnormal prion protein associated with human prion diseases:
	since December 1997, blood and tissues from individuals who later develop vCJD, have been withdrawn to prevent use;
	since October 1999, white blood cells have been reduced in all blood used for transfusion;
	since 2004 individuals who had themselves received a blood transfusion of blood since January 1980 were excluded from donating blood;
	since 1999, plasma for the making clotting factors for treating patients with bleeding disorders, has been obtained from non-United Kingdom sources; and synthetic (recombinant) clotting factors have been provided to those under 16 since 1998 and for all suitable patients since 2005;
	fresh frozen plasma for use in those born after 1 January 1996 is imported;
	for over 10 years the independent scientific Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) Risk Management Sub-Group has also issued guidance on managing potential transmission risks. This guidance is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/ab/ACDP/TSEguidance/index.htm
	since 2000 the CJD Incidents Panel has provided guidance to health services on the management of incidents involving possible CJD transmission between patients. Information on the Panel's activities can be found at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoList ame/Page/1204031511121
	and
	the Department funds studies to help ascertain the presence of abnormal prion protein present in the UK population. These include the study of appendix and tonsil tissue published in 2004, the National Anonymous Tonsil Archive and an ongoing study of appendix tissue.
	The independent scientific ACDP TSE Risk Assessment Sub-Group keeps the evidence of the asymptomatic presence of abnormal prion protein associated with human prion disease under review, this work is used by the ACDP TSE Risk Management Sub-Group, the CJD Incidents Panel and the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs when risk management actions.

Cancer: Drugs

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by the NHS on drugs for cancer treatment in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: This information is not available in the format requested. Expenditure by health care condition is available through the national programme budgeting data collection. An estimate of the prescribing spend is incorporated in the overall figures but is not available separately.
	The programme budgeting data collection began in 2003-04 and the following table shows NHS gross expenditure on cancer and tumours for England from 2003-04 to 2010-11.
	
		
			 Cancers and tumours 
			  Gross expenditure (£ billion) 
			 2003-04 3.39 
			 2004-05 3.77 
			 2005-06 4.30 
			 2006-07 4.35 
			 2007-08 4.96 
			 2008-09 5.13 
			 2009-10 5.86 
			 2010-11 5.81 
			 Notes: 1. Expenditure figures are calculated using PCT and strategic health authority programme budgeting returns and Department of Health resource accounts data. Figures will include an estimation of special health authority expenditure. 2. In order to improve data quality, continual refinements have been made to the programme budgeting data calculation methodology since the first collection in 2003-04. The underlying data which support programme budgeting data are also subject to yearly changes. Caution is therefore advised when using programme budgeting data to draw conclusions on the change in spending patterns between years. 3. Figures include expenditure across all sectors. Disease-specific expenditure does not include expenditure on general practitioner contracts but does include prescribing expenditure. 4. Calculating programme budgeting data is complex and not all healthcare activity or services can be classified directly to a programme budgeting category or care setting. When it is not possible to reasonably estimate a programme budgeting category, expenditure is classified as ‘Other: Miscellaneous'. 5. The England level expenditure on cancer and tumours fell between 2009-10 and 2010-11. This is due to changes in the collection methodology. The amount of expenditure allocated to the ‘Other Miscellaneous' category increased substantially in 2010-11, which means less expenditure is allocated to the individual programme categories. Therefore it is not possible to make a direct comparison between 2009-10 and 2010-11. Source: Annual primary care trust (PCT) programme budgeting financial returns. 
		
	
	In “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, published on 12 January 2011, we highlighted the vital role that information has to play in driving up the quality of services and outcomes and we are committed to improving the quality, transparency and availability of cancer data. From April 2012 we have mandated the collection of chemotherapy data. In time, this data collection will enable us to undertake more sophisticated analyses around the cost of cancer treatment.

Care Quality Commission

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following reports that a CQC inspector has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes for favourable inspection reports; and what action he is taking against nursing homes suspected of offering bribes.

Simon Burns: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body accountable to the Secretary of State for discharging its functions, duties and powers efficiently and effectively. Regular meetings are held between Ministers and the CQC. There have been no discussions or meetings between the Secretary of State and the CQC about this specific matter.
	The CQC is responsible for the management of its staff. The CQC took action to terminate the employment of the inspector and has referred the matter to the police.
	Any allegations of bribery are a matter for the police. The police are currently investigating this matter and it would therefore not be appropriate to comment further.

Employment: Private Sector

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many jobs formerly in his Department and its agencies and non-departmental bodies were transferred to the private sector in 2011-12.

Simon Burns: In the financial year 2011-12 no jobs were transferred to the private sector from the Department, its agency (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) or from its non-departmental bodies.

General Practitioners

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the costs of providing GPs premises under the National Health Service (General Medical Services—Premises Costs) (England) Directions 2004.

Simon Burns: The Department does not hold data on the costs for the provision of general practitioner premises. However, the Department does hold data on the costs to primary care trusts of making reimbursements to general practitioner practices under the arrangements set out in the Premises Costs Directions 2004. This amounted to a total expenditure of £623,983,000 in 2010-11.

Health and Social Care Act 2012

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse has been of the Government's appeals against publication of his Department's risk register for the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Simon Burns: The cost of the Government's decision to appeal against the publication of the transition risk register has yet to be calculated in full detail. The latest (March 2012) estimate of counsel's fee for work undertaken is £50,359. This does not include the costs of directly employed departmental employees who have been engaged on the issue, or of departmental legal staff, the services of whom are received by the Department of Health via a block service level agreement (SLA) with the Department for Work and Pensions. This means that Government lawyers working on freedom of information requests do so under the block SLA without costs being apportioned to the Department for those requests.

Health and Social Care Act 2012

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department had with (i) the Scottish Government and (ii) others on provisions relating to professional regulation in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 prior to its receiving Royal Assent; on what dates such meetings took place; and who was present.

Anne Milton: Department of Health Ministers and Scottish Ministers have not met specifically to discuss the Health and Social Care Act 2012, although there have been meetings between officials.
	Between July 2010 and April 2012, departmental Ministers and officials discussed the professional regulation provisions in Part 7 of the Health and Social Care Act with a wide range of individuals and organisations.
	The Department would incur a disproportionate cost in providing information setting out the specific dates on which meetings took place and who was present.

Hepatitis

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Lewisham East constituency have been (a) screened for, (b) diagnosed with and (c) treated for hepatitis C in the last five years.

Anne Milton: The information requested is not available.
	Information on laboratory reports of hepatitis C diagnoses by region, national estimates of numbers of patients treated for hepatitis C and information on sentinel surveillance of hepatitis C testing are contained in the Health Protection Agency's most recent annual report on “Hepatitis C in the UK”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Hepatitis

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department is providing on hepatitis C to directors of public health in local authorities.

Anne Milton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently developing public health guidance for healthcare professionals and the national health service on promoting and offering hepatitis C (and hepatitis B) testing to those at risk.
	It will be the responsibility of NICE and Public Health England to publish guidance for directors of public health on issues like hepatitis C.

Hepatitis

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase screening for hepatitis C in areas of high prevalence.

Anne Milton: There are a range of initiatives to help increase the detection and diagnosis of hepatitis C in those at risk of infection:
	Improving access to hepatitis C testing for injecting drug users and prisoners through increased screening in drug services and prisons;
	Grant-funding from the Department to the Hepatitis C Trust for projects to offer community pharmacy-based and mobile outreach testing for hepatitis C in high prevalence areas in collaboration with local national health service organisations and their partners;
	Guidance from the Department for the NHS on hepatitis C testing, backed up by dedicated websites aimed at the general public, the south Asian community and healthcare professionals on NHS Choices, with further public health guidance under development by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and
	Development of a two-part Royal College of General Practitioners certificate on the detection, diagnosis and management of hepatitis C and hepatitis B in primary care, funded by the Department through the Health Protection Agency.

Hospices

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 1 May 2012, Official Report, column 543W, on hospices, whether the £720,000 for new services in 2012-13 in addition to the annual revenue grant of £10 million is for (a) capital or (b) revenue expenditure; how it will be allocated; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The additional £721,000 for children and young people's hospices' is revenue. It is for hospice services that have come into being in the last three years and will be used to further the aims in “Better Care: Better Lives, Improving outcomes and experiences for children, young people and their families living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions”, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. Applications will be open to providers of new children's hospice services who are not already in receipt of revenue funding from the existing Children's Hospice and Hospice at Home grant of £10 million. The Department will publish information this month about the process and eligibility criteria for the new grant.

Hospitals

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had about the future of Guisborough Hospital.

Simon Burns: Ministers have had no recent discussions about the future of Guisborough Primary Care Hospital. The provision of services, including those provided at community hospitals, is a matter for the local national health service.

Mental Health Services

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will investigate (a) for what reasons the hon. Member for New Forest East has been excluded from participation in the working group on the closure of acute adult mental health beds in Hampshire and (b) the decision of the working group to exclude observers from its meetings; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: This is a local matter. As stated to my hon. Friend at the debate on 18 April 2012, if he has any concerns, I advise him to take these up with the Chair of the local Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how musculoskeletal clinical networks will be supported to assist NHS commissioners and providers in improving the quality and efficiency of musculoskeletal services.

Paul Burstow: Work to design the role of clinical networks in the modernised national health service, led by a project team in the NHS Commissioning Board, is progressing well. Proposals describing how networks will be implemented in the new system have been developed with input from stakeholders and have been shared widely. The proposals include clear criteria for determining which networks will be prescribed by the Board for specific conditions and patient groups. A further announcement will be made shortly about the networks which are likely to be prescribed by the NHS nationally to support local commissioners and providers to improve their services. In addition, local clinical networks may be established by agreement between commissioners and providers in line with local priorities.

NHS Foundation Trusts

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to (a) monitor the adequacy of (i) the number of beds and (ii) other services supplied by NHS foundation trusts and (b) take remedial action in respect of such trusts judged to be providing services that do not meet expected standards.

Simon Burns: These matters are principally the responsibility of national health service commissioners, supported by the healthcare regulators Monitor and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). NHS commissioners are responsible for securing access to NHS healthcare to meet the needs of their populations, including in-patient beds and other hospital services. The Department expects to see the long-term trend of fewer beds continue as medical advancements mean people need to spend less time in hospital and more services are provided in the community, closer to their homes.
	NHS foundation trusts (NHSFTs) are accountable to NHS commissioners for the delivery of timely and high-quality services specified in legal contracts. Monitor has a supporting role in regulating healthcare providers to ensure continuity of NHS services in line with requirements determined by commissioners.
	The CQC has an overarching responsibility for assurance of essential standards in health and adult social care services. All providers of regulated activities, including NHSFTs, NHS trusts and independent sector providers, must register with the CQC and meet a set of essential requirements of safety and quality. The CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if a provider fails to comply.

NHS: Negligence

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a duty of candour into future contractual arrangements with NHS service providers.

Simon Burns: A public consultation on proposals for introducing a contractual duty of candour ended on 31 January 2012 and responses are currently being analysed and considered. While we remain of the view that a contractual duty is the best mechanism to improve openness in the national health service, we are giving full consideration to all the consultation responses received. We are also aware that Robert Francis QC has said that he is likely to comment on the proposed duty of candour in the report of the inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. We remain committed to giving full and careful consideration to the findings and recommendations of the inquiry, including any recommendations on the duty of candour, and to taking whatever action we consider necessary as a result.

Prostate Cancer

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure access to abiraterone for men with prostate cancer after March 2014.

Paul Burstow: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising abiraterone (Zytiga) for two separate indications. NICE is an independent body and has not yet issued final guidance to the national health service on either indication.
	In the absence of final positive NICE technology appraisal guidance, primary care trusts (PCTs) are required to take funding decisions locally based on an assessment of the available evidence and to have processes in place to consider individual funding requests for drugs. Where a cancer drug is not routinely funded by a PCT, patients may be able to access it through the Cancer Drugs Fund.
	We will ensure that there are arrangements in place to protect individual patients who are receiving treatment with drugs funded by the fund as the end of the fund approaches.

Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 137W, on Safety of Bloods, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee, when he expects that the minutes from the Joint Blood Transfusion Services and Health Protection Agency Professional Advisory Committee, which are referred to in the SaBTO minutes of 9 March 2012, will be published.

Anne Milton: The minutes of the March 2012 meeting of the Joint UK Blood Transfusion Services/Health Protection Agency Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) will be published after they have been approved at JPAC's next meeting arranged for 28 June 2012.

Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 137W, on Safety of Bloods, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee, if he will publish the redacted data which are not commercially sensitive from both the SaBTO minutes of 9 March 2012, entitled “Importation of Fresh Frozen Plasma: Effectiveness and cost effectiveness” and the paper published alongside those minutes.

Anne Milton: The redacted data in the minutes, and its accompanying paper, are either commercially sensitive or relate to ongoing research studies. Data related to ongoing studies will be published when the studies have been completed and they have been reviewed by the independent scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 137W, on Safety of Bloods, Tissues and Organs Advisory Committee, whether he has accepted the recommendations of the Safety of Blood, Tissue and Organs Advisory Committee on fresh frozen plasma.

Anne Milton: On 9 March 2012 the independent scientific Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) reviewed the current assessment of the risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease transmission from blood components and recommended that there should be no extension of the importation of fresh frozen plasma beyond those for whom it is currently used (those born since 1 January 1996 and high-usage adult patients). We have accepted SaBTO's recommendation.

Social Services

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's discussion paper entitled Oversight of the Social Care Market, published in October 2011, what his policy is on the regulation of the social care market; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: There are important mechanisms and levers within the current social care system to safeguard the interests of all those using care services.
	The market is not free to operate without any regulation, and there are a range of bodies with specific responsibilities to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people who may find themselves in vulnerable circumstances should care not be available or be of poor quality. Specifically, the Care Quality Commission regulates adult social care in England, registering all providers of care homes and monitoring compliance with essential standards; and local authorities have specific duties of care towards their local residents under Section 21(a) of the National Assistance Act 1948 and Section 47(5) of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990.
	In October last year, the Department published a discussion paper “Oversight of the Social Care Market”, which outlined the issues facing the social care market and possible options for strengthening oversight of the largest and most complex providers. This has provided a valuable opportunity for us to hear views on this area and reflect on the best approach.
	We have considered the responses to the consultation paper, and intend to include the issue of market oversight in England in the forthcoming Care and Support White Paper.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects his Department's report on the accessibility of apprenticeships to be published.

John Hayes: During 2011 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Peter Little, OBE to produce a report on creating an inclusive apprenticeship offer. Mr Little submitted a comprehensive report earlier this year and the National Apprenticeship Service published the full report on its website on 11 May. A link to the report is as follows:
	www.apprenticeships.org.uk/News-Media/Latest-News/Article140.aspx
	The National Apprenticeship Service has been working with the Skills Funding Agency, BIS, DfE and others to consider Mr Little's recommendations alongside outcomes from the recent diversity pilots. An action plan, to be published this summer, will set out further steps to encourage more people with disabilities or learning difficulties to undertake apprenticeships and to provide better support for those who do.

Business: Government Assistance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support his Department has offered to (a) new and (b) existing small businesses in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationally to assist with adverse economic conditions.

Mark Prisk: We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and for the next decade to be the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain's history. That is why, in January, the Prime Minister launched “Business in You”, a major year-long campaign, to inspire people to realise their business ambitions and to highlight the range of support available for start-ups and growing businesses.
	We recognise that these are challenging times for both new and existing businesses and we have introduced a range of measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK:
	Ensuring SMEs can access the support and advice they need to start and grow
	We have transformed the way that we enable people to access the information, guidance and advice they need to start and grow a business. We have put in place a range of services including;
	An improved www.businesslink.gov.uk website including: a new Growth and Improvement Service and “My New Business”, a comprehensive start-up service.
	A Business Link Helpline which will support those who are unable to access the internet.
	A mentoring portal www.mentorsme.co.uk providing an easy route to find experienced business mentors.
	Started to introduce the new Business Coaching for Growth service, providing high quality coaching support for up to 10,000 SMEs a year with high growth potential.
	Ensuring businesses can access the finance they need
	Ensuring the flow of credit to viable SMEs is essential for supporting growth and is a core priority for this Government. The Government has:
	Launched the National Loan Guarantee Scheme: up to £20 billion of guarantees for bank funding will be available over two years allowing banks to offer lower cost lending to SMEs.
	Increased the funds available to invest through the Business Finance Partnership (BFP) to £1.2 billion. The Government has invited the first round of proposals to help businesses access non-bank finance through the BFP, and will allocate £100 million of the BFP to invest through non-traditional lending channels.
	Announced the continuation of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme until 2014/15, providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion in total over the next four years.
	Continuation of the Government's Enterprise Capital Funds programme, increasing our commitment by £200 million over the next four years, providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs.
	Announced that we will pilot the best way to introduce a programme of start-up loans to help young people set up and grow their own businesses.
	Encouraging Business Angel investment through a new £50 million Business Angel Co-Investment Fund.
	Welcomed the report of the industry review of non-bank lending chaired by Tim Breedon and will take forward its recommendations over the course of this year, including: considering how to simplify access to Government support for smaller businesses; encouraging prompt payment by larger firms; and supporting industry work to remove barriers to alternative sources of finance.
	The Regional Growth Fund is a £2.4 billion fund operating across England from 2011 to 2015. It supports projects and programmes that lever private sector investment creating economic growth and sustainable employment. The Regional Growth Fund is investing £154.6 million in the North East by supporting 76 projects through Round 1 and Round 2. These projects are creating 14,012 direct jobs, and 27,167 indirect jobs.
	Ensuring that regulation supports business growth
	Introduced a ‘one-in, one-out' rule whereby no new regulations which impose costs on businesses can be brought in without regulation of an equivalent value being removed.
	Introduced a three-year moratorium on new domestic regulation affecting micro businesses and genuine start-ups.
	The Red Tape Challenge is tackling the stock of regulation via a comprehensive thematic review which aims to identify regulations that could be removed, simplified or done in a different way. By the end of December 2011 we had scrapped or simplified over 600 regulations.
	Reforming the way in which regulations are implemented, including a review of regulators to ensure enforcement arrangements are appropriate and proportionate. Government will also launch sector-based reviews of regulation to ensure it is enforced at the lowest possible cost to business.
	To reduce barriers to businesses taking on new staff, the Government has announced significant deregulation of employment law, including increasing the unfair dismissal qualifying period from one to two years.
	Encouraging exporting SMEs
	The Government will spend £35 million to double, from 25,000 to 50,000, the number of SMEs that UKTI supports a year by 2015. Many components of the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) product are aimed at SMEs:
	“Passport to Export” is a trade development programme offering new and inexperienced exporters help and support to build the capability to start exporting proactively and make their first visit to an export market. Launched in 2001, it has helped around 14,000 SMEs as of January 2012.
	“Gateway to Global Growth” offers experienced SME exporters the opportunity to increase their exporting skills and awareness of what is on offer from UKTI and private sector suppliers. The aim is to help them enter more difficult markets or expand in existing ones.
	“Market Visit Support” provides assistance to new to export and/or new to market SMEs visiting overseas markets, individually or in groups as part of their trade development process.
	Budget 2012 set out an ambition to more than double annual UK exports to £1 trillion by 2020 through additional measures including expanding the overseas role of UK Export Finance to enable it to develop finance packages that could help UK exporters secure opportunities identified through UKTI's High Value Opportunities programme; helping secure temporary private sector office space overseas for new UK exporters in high-growth countries where such services are difficult to obtain; and continuing to increase UK Export Finance's regional presence in the UK to support SMEs seeking trade finance.
	In addition to this national support, the North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership was one of the first LEPs to be awarded an enterprise zone. Benefits include enhanced capital allowances, a simplified planning regime, a business rate discount worth up to £275,000 over a five year period, and Government support to ensure that super-fast broadband is rolled out throughout the zone.
	More specifically, officials have worked closely with the North East Access to Finance organisation to promote their portfolio of business improvement products and recently spoke at an event for over 80 manufacturing businesses within South Tyneside to make them aware of the Regional Growth Fund and the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.

Free School Meals: Reading

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in (a) Reading and (b) Reading West constituency in receipt of free school meals started a higher education course in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: The estimated number of pupils from maintained schools in Reading local authority with free school meals at age 15 who progressed to higher education by age 19 by academic year is contained in the following table. Figures are not available by parliamentary constituency.
	
		
			 Academic year Former FSM students in HE by age 19 (1) 
			 2006/07 5 
			 2007/08 10 
			 2008/09 15 
			 (1) Student numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Matched data from the DFE National Pupil Database, the HESA Student Record and the SFAILR 
		
	
	Robust information is not available for earlier years. Figures on progression of pupils with free school meals to higher education were published in the BIS Widening Participation statistical release of August 2011.
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/analysis/statistics/higher-education/official-statistics-releases/widening-participation-in-higher-education/analysis-of-progression-rates-for-young-people-in-england-by-free-school-meal-receipt
	The data published by BIS included national figures and the percentage of pupils progressing to higher education at local authority level. The next release, planned for August 2012, will cover those who have reached higher education by age 19 in 2009/10.

Higher Education Funding Council for England

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will maintain the Higher Education Funding Council for England's funding of the National Childbirth Trust's practitioner training.

David Willetts: The financial arrangements for higher education are changing from 2012/13 with less funding provided through block grants from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and more provided through student tuition fees, supported by a more generous system of publicly-funded student support to eligible students. These arrangements apply equally to the courses that the National Childbirth Trust offers to students in partnership with the University of Worcester and mean that previous levels of HEFCE funding cannot be maintained.

Higher Education: Admissions

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students enrolled in higher education institutions in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland were (i) UK students, (ii) domiciled in EU countries other than the UK and (iii) non-UK students in each year since 1997-98.

David Willetts: The latest available information on enrolments at UK higher education institutions by country of institution and country of domicile is shown in the following table for the academic years 1997/98 to 2010/11. Information on enrolments at UK higher education institutions for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2013.
	
		
			 Enrolments (1)  by country of domicile (2)  and institution. UK higher education institutions. Academic years 1997/98 to 2010/11 
			   Country of domicile 
			 Academic year Country of Institution UK Other EU Non-EU 
			 1997/98 England 1,298,635 74,400 92,740 
			  Wales 143,040 8,525 9,805 
			  Scotland 80,950 5,060 4,665 
			  Northern Ireland 35,960 4,865 905 
			 1998/99 England 1,331,270 79,435 92,875 
			  Wales 83,555 5,415 4,550 
			  Scotland 147,490 8,745 10,605 
			  Northern Ireland 36,630 4,595 910 
			 1999/2000 England 1,333,405 79,640 97,500 
			  Wales 86,170 5,580 4,400 
			  Scotland 147,615 9,240 10,555 
			  Northern Ireland 37,330 4,040 885 
			 2000/01 England 1,366,390 79,270 107,040 
			  Wales 149,575 8,745 10,060 
			  Scotland 89,415 5,520 4,120 
			  Northern Ireland 38,485 3,855 1,110 
			 2001/02 England 1,402,540 73,890 117,940 
			  Wales 94,695 5,310 4,675 
			  Scotland 162,560 9,015 11,740 
			  Northern Ireland 40,090 3,555 1,150 
			 2002/03 England 1,462,385 72,490 142,660 
			  Wales 99,730 5,215 6,045 
			  Scotland 161,125 9,385 14,400 
			  Northern Ireland 41,705 3,745 1,295 
			 2003/04 England 1,523,405 70,775 161,250 
			  Wales 100,860 5,095 6,750 
			  Scotland 165,330 10,240 16,190 
			  Northern Ireland 43,385 3,865 1,315 
			 2004/05 England 1,558,560 78,365 163,750 
			  Wales 102,930 5,580 7,580 
			  Scotland 164,400 10,760 16,920 
			  Northern Ireland 44,820 4,150 1,325 
			 2005/06 England 1,567,270 82,625 164,975 
			  Wales 101,200 5,435 8,295 
			  Scotland 166,930 11,625 17,770 
		
	
	
		
			  Northern Ireland 44,835 4,050 1,330 
			 2006/07 England 1,520,310 86,495 171,835 
			  Wales 103,590 5,695 9,140 
			  Scotland 168,545 12,445 20,020 
			  Northern Ireland 42,010 3,630 1,350 
			 2007/08 England 1,577,955 91,100 178,100 
			  Wales 99,390 6,010 9,545 
			  Scotland 166,775 13,825 20,770 
			  Northern Ireland 41,200 3,600 1,265 
			 2008/09 England 1,614,685 95,475 190,545 
			  Wales 99,340 6,195 11,275 
			  Scotland 166,680 14,960 22,385 
			  Northern Ireland 41,155 3,635 1,730 
			 2009/10 England 1,659,980 101,405 214,220 
			  Wales 98,290 6,360 13,650 
			  Scotland 172,110 17,445 23,930 
			  Northern Ireland 43,290 4,005 1,465 
			 2010/11 England 1,659,655 106,340 227,125 
			  Wales 99,720 6,185 14,845 
			  Scotland 167,200 17,875 26,490 
			  Northern Ireland 43,605 4,070 1,740 
			 (1) Covers students in all years of study. (2) Domicile refers to the country of a student's permanent or home address prior to entry to their course. Note: Figures are based on a snapshot as at 1 December and have been rounded to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record

Higher Education: Standards

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department issues to civil servants on carrying out due diligence checks on higher education providers who are seeking designated course status.

David Willetts: Officials in the Department consider the due diligence reviews on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable). These reviews include consideration of management and governance arrangements, financial sustainability and the length of time on organisation has been operating. The reviews are undertaken by qualified people who are experienced in reviewing financial accounts and management and governance structures of organisations.

Higher Education: Standards

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representatives of bodies from the higher education sector he met as part of the consultation about his recently introduced due diligence checks.

David Willetts: Due diligence checks were introduced so as to enable the Department to discharge its general duty to protect public funds. It was not considered necessary to consult before doing so.

Higher Education: Standards

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require Quality Assurance Agency audits to be carried out in respect of all designated higher education providers of courses where due diligence checks are required.

David Willetts: The Government has set out in the Higher Education White Paper and the associated technical consultation its intention that all providers that access student support funding will, in future, be subject to the same standards for quality, dispute resolution, information, access (if charging above the basic tuition charge), financial sustainability, reformed student number controls and tuition charge caps.
	Further details on how these proposals will be taken forward, including possible legislative options, will be announced shortly.

New Businesses: Young People

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans he expects to make to young people seeking to set up a new business as part of his Department's pilot scheme.

Mark Prisk: Budget 2012 announced a programme of enterprise loans to help young people set up and grow their own businesses, with funding for a £10 million pilot programme in 2012/13.
	The total number of loans awarded will depend on the value of each loan. Rather than set an arbitrary value for every loan, the Government wants the lending decision and the value of loan to be based upon the business case developed by each applicant and approved by an independent and expert panel.
	As a guide we anticipate average loan value of about £2,500 across the loan book.

New Businesses: Young People

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the average amount of money that will be available to a young person making an application for a start-up loan from his Department.

Mark Prisk: As a guide we anticipate average loan value of about £2,500 across the loan book.
	Rather than set an arbitrary value for every loan, the Government wants the lending decision and the value of loan to be based upon the business case developed by each applicant and approved by an independent and expert panel.

New Businesses: Young People

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many expressions of interest to be a delivery partner for the start-up loan for young people pilot scheme his Department has received.

Mark Prisk: On 18 April 2012 my noble Friend, the right hon. Lord Young of Graffham, hosted an event to engage potential delivery partners for the pilot phase of the start-up loans scheme.
	40 full expressions of interest had been received by the deadline on 9 May 2012.

Paternity Leave

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the (a) number of fathers who will take up the new parental leave proposed in the Modern Workplaces consultation and (b) duration of the new parental leave that will be taken by fathers; and what evidence was used to inform these estimates.

Norman Lamb: The Government will announce the direction of the policy in the Government's response, due to be published later in 2012. An updated impact assessment will also be issued in parallel.

Postgraduate Education: Finance

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has to review the adequacy of financial support available to postgraduate students.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides funding to the Research Councils and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to support postgraduate education.
	We have asked HEFCE to review participation in postgraduate study, as part of a longer-term assessment and evaluation of the impact of undergraduate funding changes. Until the findings from this become clear, HEFCE will take steps as far as possible to support postgraduate provision. HEFCE provides funding to higher education institutions (HEIs) in England to meet some of their costs for providing taught postgraduate courses and for supervising students in the first three years of a postgraduate research degree programme. In 2012-13, HEFCE provision for research degree programme supervision is £240 million, and for taught postgraduate provision is estimated at £135 million—similar levels to 2011-12.
	The Research Councils support around 19,000 doctoral students around the UK and plan to invest around £340 million in postgraduate education during 2012-13. The Research Councils periodically review their training and support mechanisms.

Vocational Guidance: Autism

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how the National Careers Service plans to ensure its services are accessible to young people with autism; and how it will monitor success in this area.

John Hayes: Local authorities have a legal duty to support young people with learning difficulties or disabilities up to the age of 25 to participate in education or training. The services offered by local authorities are focused on specialist help to overcome barriers to participation and may include information, advice and guidance on learning and work. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), can exercise his intervention powers if a local authority is failing to meet its statutory duties. Any case for intervention will be based on clear, outcome-based evidence demonstrating the extent to which young people are participating in education or training.
	Young people in school, including those with autism, will have access to independent and impartial careers guidance from September. Statutory guidance underpinning this new legal requirement is clear that young people with special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities should receive independent advice about the mainstream and specialist education and training options available to them. The statutory guidance also highlights that this group will particularly benefit from face-to-face careers guidance. A thematic review of careers guidance by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted), reporting in summer 2013, will look at how schools are responding to their new responsibilities and provide a baseline for future improvements in the quality of provision.

TREASURY

Members: Correspondence

Graham Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Financial Secretary plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Weaver Vale of 6 March 2012 on behalf of Mr Robert Griffiths.

Mark Hoban: I have replied to my hon. Friend.

Mortgages

David Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the treatment of (a) endowment policies and (b) individual savings accounts that are taken out for the purpose of repayment of a mortgage.

Mark Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

National Insurance Contributions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will estimate the additional cost to the Exchequer of extending the regional national insurance contributions holiday to cover the first 15 employees of a new business;
	(2)  if he will estimate the additional cost to the Exchequer of extending the regional national insurance contributions holiday to include London, the South East and the East of England;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the Exchequer of the regional national insurance contributions holiday for new businesses in each of the next three years.

David Gauke: An estimate of the potential cost of extending the national insurance contributions (NICs) holiday to cover the first 15 employees of a new business is not available.
	A reliable estimate of the potential cost of extending the national insurance contributions (NICs) holiday to include London, the South East and the East of England is not available.
	The scheme exempts qualifying new businesses from up to £5,000 of employer NICs for each of the first 10 employees hired in the first 12 months of business, up to a maximum saving of £50,000. The policy is designed to support new businesses in parts of the country that are most reliant on the public sector.
	The scheme began on 6 September 2010 and will run until 5 September 2013. The number of applications has reached over 15,000.
	The latest estimate of the impact on the Exchequer of the policy is as follows:
	
		
			  Exchequer impact (£ million) 
			 2010-11 -5 
			 2011-12 -50 
			 2012-13 -30 
			 2013-14 -20

Pensioners: British Nationals Abroad

Michael Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits to the Exchequer of unfreezing frozen pensions for British pensioners living permanently abroad.

Mark Hoban: The Government believes the current indexation regime strikes a fair balance between those who currently pay in to the National Insurance Fund and those who receive its benefits, and has no current plans to change the indexation of pensions paid to British pensioners living permanently abroad. However, the Government keeps all aspects of pensions policy under review.

Public Sector: Pay

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will expand the remit of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's review into the tax arrangements of senior public servants to include (a) all NHS bodies, (b) all publicly-funded schools and other educational bodies, (c) the BBC, (d) local government, (e) publicly-owned or part-owned banks and (f) all other publicly-funded bodies;
	(2)  when he expects the Chief Secretary to the Treasury's review into the tax arrangements of senior public servants to report.

Danny Alexander: The review will cover all bodies covered by HM Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money, including all central Government bodies, such as Departments and their arm’s length bodies (which include NHS trusts).
	Those that are not covered by HM Treasury guidance will not be covered by the review. Therefore, public corporations, public broadcasting authorities, including the BBC, publicly owned banks and local government are not covered by the review.
	The Department of Communities and Local Government will write to the Local Government Association encouraging them to follow the Government's policy and approach in this matter.
	Adding to this, the Treasury Officer of Accounts has written to departmental accounting officers to remind them that public sector organisations should not use tax avoidance devices, and requesting an investigation to ensure that all senior consultancy appointments provide value for money.
	The review will be published in the next few weeks.

VAT

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of the expenditure of an average household that is spent on (a) cold food consumed on suppliers' premises, (b) static holiday caravans, (c) sports drinks and (d) hot food that has recently been made subject to VAT.

David Gauke: Annex B—Tables of Impact for Individual Measures—in HM Revenue and Customs consultation document ‘VAT: Addressing Borderline Anomalies’, published at Budget 2012, sets out estimates for VAT which will be raised from catering (hot take away food and premises), holiday caravans and sports nutrition drinks; and a summary of impacts upon which comments are invited:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/vat-con-4801.pdf

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Extremism

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the activities of far-right political extremists in other EU member states.

David Lidington: The Government keeps political developments in other EU member states under constant review, including the activities of racist and extremist parties.
	The Government opposes racism and extremism in all its forms. We believe in the fundamental values of liberty, democracy and respect for human rights.

Israel: Palestinians

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to investigate the demolition of the children's playground at the Madaa creative centre in Silwan, near Jerusalem.

Alistair Burt: We have concerns about the threatened and actual demolition of Palestinian homes and buildings in the town of Silwan, east Jerusalem. We are urging Israel to desist from the demolitions and evictions, which we consider to be contrary to Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law and harmful to the peace process, as well as causing unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians.
	I raised our concerns about Silwan with the Israeli ambassador to London on 23 February and the broader issue of demolitions with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Meridor on 19 March. Officials from the British embassy in Tel Aviv lobbied the Jerusalem municipality on 21 February about the specific issue of the demolition of the children's playground at the Madaa creative centre. They were told that the Municipality had no plans to conduct wide-scale demolitions in the immediate future, which is welcome.

Israel: Palestinians

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the number of Palestinian patients from the (a) west bank and (b) Gaza Strip who visited Israel for medical treatment in 2011.

Alistair Burt: We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement between the west bank and east Jerusalem, as well as the restrictions on movement of goods and people from Gaza. It remains difficult for Palestinians to enter east Jerusalem for work, education, medical treatment or religious worship.
	We do not currently have figures for the number of Palestinian patients who have visited Israel for medical treatment in 2011. The World Health Organisation is due to publish a report on Palestinian access to health care later this month.
	Through our embassy in Tel Aviv, we have lobbied the Israeli authorities on the issue of movement and access. We continue to work closely with the Quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) supports the UN Access Coordination Unit to work with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, UN and aid agencies to facilitate the transfer of vital humanitarian assistance, including medical equipment and supplies, in and out of Gaza. DFID are also providing financial support to the Palestinian Authority to help deliver essential services, including medical supplies, to Gaza.

Israel: Palestinians

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to encourage the Israeli government either to bring charges against or release Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention.

Alistair Burt: I have regularly raised our concerns about the use of administrative detention by Israel, including with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon on 27 February, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Meridor on 19 March and the Israeli ambassador to London on 8 May. The UK ambassador to Israel also raised the issue with Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman on 10 May.
	We continue to encourage the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law, including in their policies on detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Kosovo

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to resolve the legal status of Northern Kosovo.

David Lidington: The legal status of northern Kosovo has been resolved. Kosovo has been functioning as an independent state for over four years and is increasingly recognised as such on the international stage. In its Opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice stated that Kosovo's Declaration of Independence did not violate international law.
	The UK Government remains concerned about the situation in northern Kosovo, which represents a possible threat to regional stability and the EU futures of both Kosovo and Serbia. We continue to believe that the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade remains crucial for addressing the challenges in northern Kosovo and for building practical co-operation between the two countries. I welcome the progress achieved so far in the dialogue, which includes agreements on freedom of movement, civil registries and integrated border management. I urge Kosovo and Serbia to implement agreements already reached and to remain constructively engaged with a view to achieving further agreements in areas such as energy and telecommunications.
	The UK Government supports the European Commission's recommendation that the Government of Kosovo should set out a socio-economic vision for northern Kosovo, covering issues such as health, education and employment. We look forward to supporting the Kosovo Government in its efforts to address these and other challenges, which are crucial for Kosovo's continued progress towards fulfilling its European perspective. This includes through the secondment of a UK official as the EULEX regional co-ordinator for northern Kosovo as well as financial support for the development of small and medium enterprises.

United Arab Emirates

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consular support his Department has provided to Peter Margetts since his imprisonment in Dubai.

Alistair Burt: When a British national is detained overseas, our main priority in this regard is to check on their welfare. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British embassy in Dubai have provided Mr Margetts and his family with consular assistance since his detention, and will continue to do so. This assistance has included visiting him regularly and monitoring his welfare and case closely. I wrote to my hon. Friend on 10 May on Mr Margetts' case in more detail.